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Cal Fire calls series of fires one of the deadliest sieges in state history

Strong winds, especially over the weekend, could pose further problems

(CNN)The misery and heartbreak caused by the one of the deadliest wildfire outbreaks in California's history aren't going to end anytime soon, officials said Thursday.

"We're not even close to being out of this emergency," Mark Ghilarducci, the director of California's Office of Emergency Services, said Thursday afternoon.

The fires that are devastating Northern California have killed 31 people, according to Cal Fire, making it one of the deadliest series of fires ever in the state.

The largest of the group of 21fires are still burning with little containment, and the weather has not helped the thousands of firefighters battling those deadly blazes and new ones that pop up each day.

"We are a long way from being done with this catastrophe," Cal Fire Director Ken Pimlott said. The fires were burning erratically Thursday, he said.

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Authorities were concerned about new Red Flag warnings that said winds were going to pick up this week.

The good news was that reinforcements are coming from across the state and the country, Napa County Fire Chief Barry Biermann said.

Both factors are "starting to give us the upper hand, allowing us to actually ... (get) some containment started in certain areas," he said.

Still, the biggest fires were huge challenges. The 40,000-plus acre Atlas Fire in Napa and Solano counties was just 3% contained and the 34,000-acre Tubbs Fire in Napa and Sonoma was only 10% under control.

Fires have ravaged Northern California's wine country since Sunday night, destroying at least 3,500 structures and leading to scores of missing-person reports, authorities said. At least 400 people are reported missing in Sonoma County alone, where a fire wiped out thousands of homes in Santa Rosa, a city of about 175,000 people roughly 50 miles northwest of San Francisco.

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• More than 2,800 residences in Santa Rosa, California, have been destroyed by wildfires, Mayor Chris Coursey told reporters on Thursday.

• Wildfires have burned more than 191,000 acres throughout the state. The largest fires were in Northern California's Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties, littering the landscape with charred rubble and clouds of smoke.

• Of the 31 people who have died since Sunday night, 17 were killed in Sonoma County, officials said. At least four people have died in Yuba County as a result of the Northern California wildfires, county spokesman Russ Brown said. Eight people have died in Mendocino County and two people from Napa County have been killed.

Flames were approaching the city limits Thursday, and a few people have ignored evacuation orders, Mayor Chris Canning said.

"Your choice to stay ... is a distraction to our first responders. You will not be given life safety support at this point. You are on your own," Canning said Thursday morning at a news conference.

'I want to cry'

Pierre Birebent has made wine at Signorello Estate just north of the city of Napa for 20 years. One of the fires gutted buildings at the popular winery, leaving charred debris scattered across its landscape.

"I want to cry. I'm trying not to," Birebent said.

He pointed at piles of ash and rubble. "This was my file cabinet. The door was here. ... There's nothing left," he said.

Photos:Wildfires blaze in California

Aerial images showing parts of Sonoma and Napa County that have been hit by wildfires.

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Colby Clark, left, comforts her mother, Bonnie Trexler, after law enforcement escorted them to Trexler's home in Napa, California, to retrieve medicine and personal items on Wednesday, October 11. Trexler was one of the lucky few in her neighborhood whose home was spared. Deadly wildfires have been tearing through the state, destroying homes and businesses and prompting evacuation orders.

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Highway Patrol officers go door to door to ask Sonoma residents to evacuate their homes as a wildfire approaches on October 11.

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Homes are destroyed in the Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa on October 11.

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The sign of a Firestone store malfunctions in Santa Rosa on Tuesday, October 10.

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Damaged winemaking vats and tanks stand in ashes and debris at the Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa.

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Smoke clouds the sun from wildfires burning in Santa Rosa and Napa Valley on October 10.

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Mary Caughey, center in blue, reacts after finding her wedding ring in the remains of her home in Kenwood on October 10.

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Puddles of melted metal trail away from a burned-out car near Napa on October 10.

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A TV cameraman inches closer to a burning building at a winery in Napa Valley on Monday, October 9.

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A firefighting plane helps battle a blaze just north of Tustin on October 9.

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A historic barn burns in Santa Rosa on October 9.

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The Santa Rosa Hilton Hotel burns to the ground on October 9.

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Jim Stites watches as part of his neighborhood burns in Fountaingrove on October 9.

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Fire burns from an open gas valve near the pool area of a Santa Rosa trailer park on October 9.

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A man rushes to save his house as a wildfire moves through Glen Ellen on October 9.

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Kristine Pond searches what's left of her family's home in Santa Rosa on October 9.

A woman moves horses in Orange as strong Santa Ana winds blow smoke from the Canyon 2 fire toward them on October 9.

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A firefighter douses flames at a home in Anaheim on October 9.

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Traffic backs up as people flee Orange on October 9.

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Santa Rosa residents sift through the remains of a burned home on October 9.

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The remains of fire-damaged homes and cars smolder at a Santa Rosa trailer park on October 9.

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A tent structure built for the Safeway Open golf tournament burns in Napa on October 9.

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Fire consumes a barn in Glen Ellen on October 9.

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Smoke rises in the hills east of Napa on October 9.

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A man passes a burning house in Napa on October 9.

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The remains of fire-damaged homes are seen in Glen Ellen on October 9.

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A wildfire burns behind the Sonoma Raceway on October 9.

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A building burns in Napa on October 9.

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Flames overtake a building in the Napa wine region on October 9.

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Two women hug as they watch houses burn in Santa Rosa on October 9.

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A few steps away, the winery's barrel room is intact, along with its vintages from last year.

Thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate, including Calistoga and parts of the Sonoma County city of Geyserville.

Authorities urged Napa residents to pack "ready-to-go bags" with documents and medication in case they need to evacuate quickly.

Many firefighters have been working for days with little rest -- but supervisors are trying to pull them off duty to get rest as firefighters from out of state arrive.

"We are finding people on the line that have just been going to work and staying out there for day after day after day," Biermann, the Napa County fire chief, said Thursday. "We're identifying them, we're getting them in as soon as we can to get rest, especially now that we have more reinforcements coming."

A Santa Rosa-area firefighter, Fred Leuenberger, said his crew has been fighting fires with few breaks since Sunday night.

"We have slept off and on throughout the incident in engines, pickups, hose beds, etc. (Wednesday) night we finally got guys a decent night's sleep in a fire station," said Leuenberger, who works for the Rincon Valley Fire District, on Thursday morning.

"There have been few breaks, just enough to get home and check on family."

Firefighter's home destroyed

Heather and Robert Nappi thought they were safe in their Santa Rosa neighborhood of Coffey Park. A firefighter for the Rancho Adobe Fire Protection District, Robert Nappi was fighting the blazes on the other side of Highway 101.

Then the fire suddenly changed direction, and Nappi warned his wife to flee. She hurriedly evacuated, along with their 2-year-old daughter and the family cat.

"I only grabbed a couple pieces of clothing just to get us through the night," Heather Nappi said Wednesday night. "I thought we would be back the next day. ... I had no clue that it was going to take our house."

Coffey Park is now blackened with debris and ash. The fire swallowed everything that wasn't steel, concrete or brick. At some properties, all that remains are mangled washers, dryers and water heaters.